State Bancorp 1Q Earnings Edge Higher

State Bancorp Inc. in Jericho, N.Y., reported first-quarter results that were modestly higher from a year earlier, at $3 million.

The $1.58 billion-asset company's results were up only slightly because its interest income fell $1.4 million. Compared with the first quarter of 2010, operating expenses were cut by $1 million and the loan-loss provision fell by $350,000.

Nonaccruing loans doubled, to $12 million, or 1% of total loans, mostly because of a $5 million lending relationship that involved a bankruptcy. State said the borrower has remained current on the loan.

Thomas O'Brien, State's president and chief executive, said in a press release Wednesday that State had dealt with a "substantial proportion" of its higher risks in the credit portfolio, but he remained cautious because of the "suspect pace" of the economic recovery.